Bienvenido a Patagonia

We got up early Saturday and caught a hot and sweaty three-hour bus ride to a town called Viedma on the Rio Negro. After a good walk from the bus station, a dip in thte river was a welcomed relief. There were lots of families out, plenty of shade to lounge beneath, and we got so comfortable that we decided to stay the night right there. We were there for high-tide in the afternoon and took to higher ground to avoid a rude awakening sometime in the early hours. Shortly after 3 a.m. we realized we didn´t go high enough. We´ve decided the full moon was at fault. We retreated away from the river and waited for the waters to retreat to their source then slept comfortably in a still dry spot.
The next day was spent by the river too, waiting for our things to dry (Lebn´s iPod and Miguel´s camera were the only casualties though some books and other papers now have exciting new shapes) and for the 6 p.m. train that was to take San Carlos de Bariloche. The five of us shared a first-class cabin, which was not only hot, but dusty too, thanks to the desert terrain we passed through and a broken train-car door. It was an overnight trip though, and the night cooled off and we adjusted to the dust. There was a dining car to take refuge in too. I had a cup of coffee there in the morning while the others slept and saw the landscape finally start to change. The vast flatness of the desert gave way to hills, then high plains and trees, then finally, mountains in the distance. It reminded me of the drive from Phoenix to Flagstaff until those mountains came into view, and then there was the Lago Nahuel Huapi, a long and deep watered lake, rolling with waves from the wind blowing strong along its length.
Its breathtaking, but that wind has made it feel close to freezing once the sun sets. We are officially in Patagonia. It´s summer here and I´m dressing like I did in Bellingham before I left. Some of the locals assure us its been unusually cold though. It’s a touristy town, a common jumping-off point for various adventures, and we´ve met lots of jugglers and artesanas. We did what we normally do when we hit a new town and headed for the center of it to find a park or plaza there. Sure enough, before too long, we had heard about a cheap place where jugglers are known to stay. For 10 pesos a night you can throw up your tent in this lady´s yard and have use of the kitchen and bathroom. She was full though and everywhere else was at least 20 pesos which we´ve come to view as too expensive though it’s the equivalent to about 7 dollars.
We ended up hanging out at that house for most of the night anyway after meeting some jugglers who were fortunate enough to have tents in the yard. We made dinner, played music, danced, and when we got tired headed off to set up camp in a vacant lot that Lebn and Sam had discovered earlier. It was right in the middle of the city and on a hill covered with trees and over grown grass and brush, but it was like a little garden paradise. There were apple, pear, and cherry trees, as well as a few raspberry bushes, though there wasn’t much fruit on any of them. In the spot we set up camp, you couldn´t really see any hint of the surrounding civilization, and no one from it could see us.
We were planning to sleep there again last night, but we ended up hanging out under a ramp near the lake with some people, to avoid the rain and wind, and got so comfortable we stayed. The lake was a nice sight to wake up to. We should be leaving town today for a town South of here called El Bolson. It´s sunny and warmer today, but I´m still in a sweatshirt. It’s a good day to travel.